Shoe cleaning device



M 1969 I. M. BOHANNON r 3,445,875

SHOE CLEANING mavrcn mm latch 18. {966 f Sheet of z INVENTOR.

Ida M. Balm/man y 1969 1. M. BOHANNON 3,445,875

snor: CLEANING DEVICE Filed March 18. 1966 Sheet & 0152 Fig.5

INVEN TOR.

Ida M.B0/1annon United States Patent U.S. CI. 15-36 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for cleaning the bottom of shoes, the device including a rotatable fiat brush which moves upwardly through a grating to clean the shoe sole of a person standing thereupon.

This invention relates to power driven cleaning devices, and more particularly to a power driven brush cleaner for shoes.

It is therefore the main purpose of this invention to provide a shoe cleaning device which will be power operated and will be located in the floor at the entrances of buildings to clean the shoes of people who have stepped upon the grating above the device.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shoe cleaning device which will utilize brush bristles which will be placed in rows upon a moving member and the bristles will protrude partially through the grating and will serve to greatly reduce the amount of dirt entering buildings, thus providing for more pleasant surroundings.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a shoe cleaning device which will serve to reduce maintenance costs.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein a satisfactory embodiment of the invention is shown. However, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details disclosed but includes all such variations and modifications as fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of this invention shown partly broken away.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of FIGURE 1 shown in section.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view of the belt tightening device shown in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a side view showing a modified form of this invention.

FIGURE 5 is a side view of the modified form showing the brush bar in down position.

According to this invention, a shoe cleaning device is provided with a pair of spaced apart rollers 11 which are mounted in bearings 12 which are held in position within a hollow rectangular container 13. Container 13 is secured between the floor or joists 14 by means of a plurality of fasteners 15. A continuous belt 16 made of suitable flexible material is received by rollers 11 and is provided with a plurality of spaced apart rows of bristles 17 which provide a means of removing dirt from the bottom of shoes as a person passes over the top of grating 18 above joists 14. A pair of pulleys 19 receiving a belt 20 are driven by electric motor 21 in order to rotate shaft 22 of one of the rollers 11. A belt adjusting device 23 provides a means of adjusting belt 16 to the proper tension in order for it to work efiiciently. A conduit pipe 24 is secured within a floor joist 14 within container 13 at one end and the other end is suitably secured to a vacuum device 25 which provides a means for removing the dirt accumulated within container 13. The motor 21 and the vacuum device 25 are secured between adjacent joists 14 on the other side of the pair which have container 13 secured.

When rollers 11 are rotated by means of motor 21 through pulleys 19 and belt 20 bristles 17 extending partially above the grating 18 brushes away the dirt from the soles of the shoes of people entering the buildin thus removing loose dirt from the soles of the shoes.

Looking now at FIGURES 4 and 5 of the drawings, one will see that a modified form of shoe cleaning device 30 is provided with a motor driven disc 31 between joists 32 and a reciprocating rod 33 is secured by off-set pin means 34 to disc 31 and rod 33 is allowed to pivot about the pin 34. A link rod 35 is pivotably secured by pivot pin 36 to reciprocating rod 33. A pin 37 secured to one of the joists 32 allows plate 38 which is secured by means of pins 39 to link rod 35 to brush dirt from the soles of shoes by a plurality of spaced apart rows of bristles 40 which extend partially above grating 41. The other end of plate 38 is supported pivotably and rotatably by link rod 35' which is pivotably secured to pin 37' attached to joist 32 and the other end of link rod 35' pivotably receives a pin 39'.

As power driven disc 31 is rotated reciprocating rod 33 serves to rotate link rod-s 35 and 35' which imparts a wiping motion to the rows of bristles 40 secured to plate 38, thus removing the dirt from the soles of the shoes to the above gratin-g 41.

What I now claim is:

1. A shoe cleaning device for cleaning dirt from the bottom of shoes, comprising, in combination, electrical motor powered disk means having an oflF-set pin pivotably secured to one end of a reciprocating rod, said rod being pivotably secured to a link rod which in turn is rotatable, and said link rod is provided with pivot pin means secured to one end of a rectangular plate having a plurality of upwardly extending bristle brushes which intermittently extend partially through an upper grating so to remove dirt from shoes, the other end of said plate being secured by a similar link rod which is also rotatably pivoted to a pivot pin secured to a joist below said grating, and the upper edges of said bristle brushes and said rectangular plate being parallel to an upper surface of said grating.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,649,599 8/1953 Leadingham 15-37 3,029,452 4/ 1962 Scott 15-37 3,115,653 12/1963 Fresh et al. 1537 3,228,052 1/1966 Kuz 15-36 WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner. ROBERT 1. SMITH, Assistant Examiner. 

